Ymmv but i found that “having a job “ was really useful. Like you have a predetermined reason to talk to folks. I was sort of Shanghaied into doorknocking during the 2016 elections to remind people to vote. I didn’t want to do it initially because I had pretty bad social anxiety back then but I found that it really made a huge difference — talking to folks and basically being able to displace whatever that person was sending my way towards the operation I was a part of rather than myself sort of let me off the hook of self judgement.

That aside, I still find bars kind of intimidating. I miss my hometown pub; it was a very low pressure environment with a bunch of patio chairs outside where people either kept to themselves or optionally joined in with the folks next to them, either was 100% ok. Haven’t found anything like that here yet.